Theatrical musicality in Olu Obafemi’s Scapegoats and Sacred Cows

Abstract

This article examines theatrical musicality employed in Olu Obafemi’s play, Scapegoats and Sacred cows. In doing this, effort is made to analyse the songs in respect to the scenes or the dramatic actions in the play. The role of music in play production is succinctly considered. Also, the songs in the play are subjected to structural analysis, which focuses on the rhythmic structure in terms of beats and instrumentation, harmonic pattern/structure, melodic scales, musical forms of the selected songs, which include call and response antiphonal and repetition and variation. At the end, it was observed that although Scapegoats and Sacred cows is neither a melodrama nor an operatic theatre, the playwright consciously employs the concept of ‘total theatre’ by including music and dance, prominent features of African theatre in the play.